Agate Pass Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 635 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Aflac by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,202,000. Westover Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 100.3% in the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 4,003 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $102.14. The stock had a trading volume of 540,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,099. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $106.63 and its 200 day moving average is $104.93. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is 34.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.